At the recent board meeting on June 20, 2024, the Redwood Valley County Water District discussed the need for volunteers for a new well monitoring project and announced that three board seats will be open for election this November. General Manager Jared Walker and Board President Adam Gaska highlighted efforts to adopt advanced telemetry technology to improve water data collection. The meeting also covered progress on consolidating with Ukiah Water, budget planning, infrastructure improvements, and securing funding for key projects. Other updates included water availability for agricultural customers and developments regarding the Potter Valley Diversion facility.
General Manager, Jared Walker and Board President Adam Gaska attended a California Water Data Consortium telemetry workshop. Telemetry means transmitting data from monitoring equipment using cellular or radio transmissions. Instead of physically going to a well to read the meter, a device is attached to the meter to transmit the data wirelessly to a computer, phone or iPad. The State is looking for 75 to 125 volunteers willing to retrofit their well monitoring devices, pump meters, and flow meters to add telemetry to the equipment. Gaska said this is a pilot project on the Upper Russian River, chosen because of the complex type and amount of water rights on that section of the river. The State is working with private industry, municipal water districts, and tribes to get this project going. Gaska said they want to measure in-stream flow, wells being pumped, and groundwater elevation. The first year of the program will not be subject to public review. Because the State will require water districts to monitor wells in the future, it might be good to sign up for free telemetry equipment from this program. Walker said the Redwood Valley County Water District only has one point of diversion at Lake Mendocino, and some Millview District wells. There currently isn’t a lot of monitoring data about the East Fork of the Russian River above Lake Mendocino. Gaska said it might be useful to Potter Valley.
Walker spoke about PG&E’s request to FERC for reduction in flow through the Potter Valley Diversion into the East Branch of the Upper Russian River to 25 cfs, in order to protect the fish in the Eel River. FERC has not yet approved this. For further information, please see this post on the Mendocino County Russian River Flood Control and Conservation Improvement website.
Walker reported on backflow devices. The District had to change from 3/4 inch to 1 inch meters to satisfy fire protection requirements. Newly constructed houses must have fire sprinklers. The new meters also have a backflow device that needs to be regularly tested. Backflow is when a pipe leaks or bursts and contamination may possibly get into the potable water. Customers with the new meters are being charged for backflow tests, even if they don’t have fire sprinklers or any need for a backflow device. To be on the safe side, the devices are tested to prevent any release of unsafe water into the system. The District has at least 500 customers with backflow devices. It cost $50 to test each one. Some customers have complained.
Walker is working on the draft budget for next year. There are only six months left on the Service Agreement with Willow County Water District, which manages Redwood Valley. Redwood Valley will draft a six month notice agreement for termination of the service agreement with Willow, as Redwood Valley is now part of the Ukiah Valley Water Authority. The consolidation with Ukiah necessitates revision of human resources policies for those District employees who become Ukiah employees. The salary and benefit details need to be worked out as soon as possible. Ukiah has bargaining units for different departments within the city.
There are 3 seats up for election on the Board in the upcoming November election. Incumbent candidates whose terms expire will need to declare their candidacy. If anyone wants to run for the Board of Redwood Valley County Water District, now is the time to throw your hat in the ring. This is a non-political, unpaid position. Those who serve give a lot of their time to make sure the community water is safe and reliable.
Surplus water will be available from Flood Control this year meaning Ag customers will have access to water and the RV treatment plant will be in operation. Because of the wet winter, there will not be any curtailments, as the Governor did not issue a state of emergency.
Board Member Bree Klotter attended the press conference with Jared Huffman at Lake Mendocino on June 7. Five members of the Eel-Russian Project Authority were there, but few people were invited to this meeting. Representatives from the Bureau of Reclamation attended. The Bureau provided a $2 million grant for the design of the new Diversion facility moving the design process from 20% to 60% completion. Klotter said one of the Bureau reps acknowledged that the Bureau realizes that the Eel-Russian Project Authority will be asking for more money to complete the redesigned diversion. The group then traveled to tour the existing Potter Valley Diversion facility. Klotter felt that it was good that the Bureau of Reclamation reps could see the existing diversion in person, as they are based in Sacramento and Denver.
The Ukiah Valley Water Authority will meet on July 9 at 5 PM. Walker has been meeting with Sean White, Director of the Ukiah Valley Water Authority, about funding from SAFER, California’s program for small community drinking water security. The UVWA is working with water engineering consulting firm Carollo on consolidation logistics.
The City of Ukiah is working on a water sharing agreement with the Millview County Water District to be a back-up water supply to serve a subdivision off Lovers Lane. The subdivision has been in the planning stages for years, but has been on hold in part because of water uncertainty. The consolidation with Ukiah should ensure a secure source of water for the new subdivision.
The District, as a member of Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, received an invoice from MCIWPC for Redwood Valley’s share of attorneys’ and consultants’ fees for their coordination efforts on the Eel-Russian Project Authority. Last year MCIWPC requested $50,000, and this year they are requesting $60,000, some of which will go toward payment for hydrology consultant Tom Johnson, and water rights attorney Scott Shapiro, who are assisting with the efforts to redesign the Potter Valley Diversion. MCIWPC is also sponsoring a feasibility study to modernize Coyote Dam at Lake Mendocino.
Regarding the District’s efforts find a suitable municipal well site at the Masonite site, the consultant that was hired, Larry Walker and Associates, has requested a change order to the contract, asking for an additional $18,000 to conduct more hydrological studies. The Board voted to approve additional to LWA. Consulting firm LACO is guiding this process.
The Board briefly discussed PG&E’s request for an extension of the time to file the Surrender Application for the Potter Valley Project with FERC, but not much was said. This was not discussed at the meeting, but MendoFever.com has been reporting on this issue. Friends of the Eel River issued a press release on June 5, urging PG&E not to delay dam removal. MendoFever.com spoke to MCIWPC’s Janet Pauli, and published an article about PG&E’s request for extension. After speaking with Pauli and reading the position of FOER, we contacted PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno, who provided extra emphasis to the PG&E statement contained in the previous article: PG&E believes the additional time to consult with agencies and other interested parties will result in a more robust Final SA and ultimately in a quicker path for the decommissioning of the Potter Valley Project.
The next RVCWD meeting is set for Thursday, July 18 at 5:00 pm.
